West Bank--Marsaba Monastery and Bethlehem
With a wonderful Arab cabdriver, Kahlil, who knew every shortcut, we were off for a day of fun, exploring parts of the West Bank. Our first stop was the Greek Orthodox Marsaba Monastery, a fifteen hundred year old complex very close to the Dead Sea. No women are allowed in here and no shorts either, so we observed the grandeurous view from outside the gates.
Hank and Kahlil
Then it was on to Bet-Lehem (literaly meaning "house of bread." Bet-Lehem is famous as the birthplace of Jesus. We saw that spot first and then it was on to the Sook, the Arab marketplace.
A Greek Orthodox Church is on one side and a Roman Catholic Church is on the other and between them in a cellar-like tunnel connecting the two is the grotto (above) where Jesus was born.
On the opposite side of the plaza from the Church of the Nativity is an unimposing mosque. Behind this building is the walkway to the sook.
I suspect that we were the only westerners to visit the sook that day.
Thank goodness for the glida (ice cream)!
We saw everthing from expensive jewelry to second hand clothing, shoes, acessories, all sorts of fruits and vegetables
Look closely! The butchered lambs hang outside this butcher shop.